Employee profile: Ally Dobson, Graduate Mechanical Engineer

When CS Energy’s Graduate Mechanical Engineer Ally Dobson was choosing her major at university, she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do when she entered the workforce – but she knew she was interested in understanding how things work, and valued versatility in the field.

“Mechanical Engineers work to design, analyse, and improve systems and machines across a variety of industries,” said Ally, who graduated with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Queensland University of Technology in 2023.

“My degree has allowed me to develop a broad skillset applicable across various industries including energy, automation, and aerospace; and the grad program at CS Energy is going to develop those skills and add to them.”

Prior to joining CS Energy, Ally gained a year of engineering consulting experience in the building services industry.

“I completed both undergraduate and graduate work in the building services industry, where I particularly enjoyed the design engineering aspect of the role,” Ally said.

“I gained a lot of valuable skills including communicating with clients, interpreting and applying Australian standards, and also deepened my understanding of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics concepts.

“However, I was ready to challenge myself in a completely different field.”

Finding versatility

The broad range of hands-on experience offered by CS Energy’s graduate program was an attractive proposition, including the rotations to the different power stations - which have different operating systems - as well as the opportunity to work on renewables and firming assets.

“There aren’t a lot of companies in Australia where you can experience the various methods of energy generation like there is at CS Energy,” Ally said.

“I’d also heard great things about CS Energy from people I knew who worked here, and when I saw the ad for the grad program, I did some more research on the company and applied - and I was fortunate to secure a position.”

And CS Energy was fortunate to secure Ally, who started her position as Graduate Mechanical Engineer early, commencing with the Customer & Growth team in October to support the team with the operational readiness and commissioning of the Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant Kogan (HDP), taking over from a previous grad.


Image: Ally (right) with Vacation Mechatronics Engineer Grace Margaretha, who she took over from.

“A typical workday for me currently includes assisting with maintenance schedules, developing operating procedures, HMI control systems checklists, consolidating information for training manuals, and attending HAZOP (Hazard and Operability study) and LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis) sessions to assess and mitigate onsite hazards,” Ally said.

“Going onsite has been a real highlight for me - getting to see and learn about the Chinchilla Battery, the HDP, and Kogan Creek Power Station firsthand has been an incredible experience.

“I've also really enjoyed working with the Future Energy team, learning about hydrogen technology and witnessing the level of dedication and problem-solving required to get a plant commissioned and operational.

“Between the different types of coal-fired electricity generation at Callide and Kogan Creek power stations, the wind farms that are being built, the batteries, the gas peaking plant and the HDP project that I’ve been working on, which is solar powered, there are a lot of different things to learn about.

“It’s a really exciting time to be working in energy.”

In the long-term, Ally hopes to continue in a career which sees her delivering and integrating sustainable energy solutions into the market; and her early-career experience at CS Energy will help her develop the skills to pursue this goal. 

“My long-term career goals include finding the industry, team, or field within mechanical engineering that I’m most passionate about,” Ally said.

“I aim to become a project engineer, obtain my Registered Professional Engineer Queensland certification, and eventually take on a leadership role to hopefully manage my own team one day.  

“So, I’d like to develop the hands-on technical experience in power generation and asset management that will give me a head start in the field,” Ally said.


Image: Ally with her supervisor, Head of Renewables and Firming Operations Mick Johnstone.

“With the energy industry changing, I think my role will shift towards a more automated version of engineering as AI and other tools become more advanced.

“I expect it will eventually change from focusing on the integration of sustainable energy solutions into the energy market, and move on to optimising and improving those solutions.

“So I’d like to develop my skills in predictive maintenance, data analytics, and control systems to prolong existing plant operations and the lifecycle of renewable energy assets in the future.” 

Ally said that one of the biggest benefits of CS Energy’s graduate program is the opportunity to rotate across different teams and sites, with exposure to different aspects of the business, discovering the teams and areas you enjoy working with, and finding your own fit. 

“The different experiences really help towards finding your own niche, which is something that joining into a company with a specified fulltime role doesn't offer.

“I'm hoping to learn as much as I can about all of CS Energy's assets - both existing and upcoming - by getting hands on experience during my rotations through the business.

“I also hope to get to know all of the graduates and teams and, most of all, discover which areas I enjoy working in the most and where I can contribute the most.”

Ally will be completing four rotations over the two-year graduate program. She is currently working in the Brisbane office, and will begin rotations at Callide Power Station later this year, before moving on to Kogan Creek Power Station.